Episode Transcript
You sometimes forget what an awesome engineer you are.
You have amazing skills and creative passion. Your potential in this field is astronomical.
You forget because your career doesn’t seem to be thriving at the moment.
Because your dream career is fading instead of flourishing.
Because you’re sliding off the pathway to making your mark in the world.
Or because you’re simply losing track of what you love about being an engineer.
So now is the time to get back to some basic career care.
Getting Back to Basic Engineering Career Care
It’s easy to get away from career care.
You’re well engaged in your job. I get it. It takes a lot of your brain power.
And no one is telling you to stop working at your job to spend time planning your future career.
But that’s the purpose of this episode.
I’m interrupting you. And making sure you don’t forget this part.
I’m giving you some reminders about career care and how important it is for you to spend some of your precious time on it.
There are some really important things to remember about your engineering career.
Things that are going to enable you to do it your way.
To make your unique contribution to the world. And get the most you possibly can from that experience.
6 Important Reminders for Taking Care of Your Engineering Career
Here are 6 empowering reminders about taking care of your engineering career:
- First of all, you’re in charge.
You’re in charge of your career. So you’re the one who handles career care.
Yes, you get help from others in many ways. But you are the authority.
When it comes to your career, you have the final say.
If you leave all the decision-making to your bosses or mentors, they’ll do what they think is best for you.
Not what you think is best for you. You’re the one who owns your dream career.
- It’s okay to take time for career care.
It’s something that has to be done if you’re gonna reach your goals.
Letting it go by the wayside slows your progress and reduces your opportunities.
If you struggle to prioritize career care, think of it as part of your job.
Because it is.
It’s expected of you. And it’s in your employer’s best interest, too.
- Nurture your career vision.
Keep in mind your uniqueness and what you want your unique contribution to be.
Stay aligned. Meaning, do work that aligns with that uniqueness.
Do work that aligns with you and your energy.
This will help you find your career trajectory and stay on it.
- Allow yourself to think big.
Spend some introspection time thinking about where you want to go next and what your options might be.
Even if you’re not making that decision right now. Have ideas in mind.
Be open to wherever your energetic center may take you.
Think big. Honor your capabilities. Remove limiting beliefs.
And release any resistance to taking on higher level or more challenging roles.
- Know where you are relative to your dream.
Continuously assess where you are in your career. And assess where you are right now relative to your dream career.
Are you making progress at a good pace?
Do you feel you want to be farther along or need to make a pivot?
Are you trying to get somewhere but staying stuck instead?
Leverage your bosses, mentors and influential connections to help you get where you want to go. Ask them for help and insight.
- Get third-party input.
Getting feedback from people outside your organization is invaluable.
It expands your knowledge, brings in different viewpoints, and shows you more ways for you to make your unique contribution.
Especially if your dream career takes you beyond where you’re working now, third party input is so important.
Connect via professional societies, alumni organizations, technical conferences and affinity groups.
Hire an outside coach to bring fresh perspective to your career strategy.
You Need a Coach to Help You Optimize Your Engineering Career Journey
A word about coaching:
As an engineer and leader with career ambition, you need a coach to help you optimize your journey.
If your organization has internal coaches, take advantage of that service.
But also consider a third-party coach. The benefits of coaching from outside your organization are even greater.
Yes of course I want to work with you. I’m biased.
But an outside coach will work with you as an individual engineer rather than just an employee of your organization.
An outside coach will see your potential overall from a different perspective and not be limited by the environment, mission and outlook of your organization.
This is a really great investment in yourself and can be the catapult you need to really get the most out of your engineering career.
I think you’re ready for this now. I’d love to hear about your career journey and how you want to make your mark in the world.
Let’s talk about how we can work together. Sign up for a Strategy Session here.
BTW, you might want to go back and listen to 2 earlier episodes on career care. In fact they’re my very first Episodes 1 & 2.
You’ll learn more about things like self-assessment, why career care is important, meeting regularly with your boss and taking follow-up action.
I challenge you to re-energize your engineering career care and make it an on-going effort.
You’re dream career is in reach. And a good career care strategy will be the spark that makes it a reality.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast, we’ll revisit an alternative to time management called time satisfaction.
Be sure to tune in for Episode 159.